Washington Township Parents, School Hours & Boundaries Input Needed

The Metropolitan School District of Washington Township (MSDWT) stretches from the northwest side to the northeast side of Indianapolis. It is facing the same problem as its neighbor, the Metropolitan School District of Lawrence Township (MSDLT), overcrowding. Currently, MSDWT has seven elementary schools and some schools like Crooked Creek has an entire grade learning outside in portable classrooms. So far MSDLT has added classrooms and improved its schools without raising taxes; MSDWT is using a construction referendum to address it’s overcrowding.

MSDWT is adding an eighth elementary school Willow Lake which is being built on the former Harcourt Elementary site in addition to making improvements to all district schools. Since the John Strange Elementary site could not accommodate a larger school and since it would cost less to build a new school, the district decided to relocate students and staff to the second new elementary school, Clearwater, it is building on the previous Wyandotte site. These schools will be ready to receive students during the 2019-2020 school year.

Moving from seven elementary schools to eight means redrawing boundary lines. The district needs input from families as it contemplates the best option for MSDWT students. Boundary lines are also being redrawn for its three middle school. The district decided this would be the optimal time to also address middle school.

Once again, MSDWT is considering adjusting the school start and end times. This school year, the district slightly adjusted start and end times to address issues with late bus arrival. Although the adjusted times have helped, some families are still experiencing inconsistent school bus pick-up and drop off.

Below are the current start and end times of MSDWT schools. Option one on the stakeholder survey is to keep the current times.

High School 7:20 AM – 2:35 PM

Elementary School 8:30 AM – 3:30 PM

Middle School 9:20 AM – 4:20 PM

Option two flip-flops the elementary and high school times.

High School 8:20 AM – 3:35 PM

Elementary School 7:30 AM – 2:30 PM

Middle School 9:25 AM – 4:25 PM

Although the district provided pro and con articles on its website about moving to a later adolescent start time, above those articles was written:

Research, along with advocacy from groups such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, continues to support later school start times for adolescent students. Some of the advantages, according to studies, of a later middle school and high school start time include:

-Later start times align with the sleep/wake cycle of adolescents, improving alertness and school engagement;

-Schools with later start times have seen improvement in areas such as academic achievement, truancy rates, and student behavior;

-Fewer automobile accidents involving teen drivers.

MSDWT parents, take the survey to have your voice heard. School boundaries will change when the 2019-20 school year begins and the start and end times could also be adjusted.